


The Catalyst

by theholyjuggernaut



Category: One Piece
Genre: Accidental Kissing, Affection, And Roronoa Zoro will GET a hug, Angst, Aromantic Monkey D. Luffy, Asexual Monkey D. Luffy, Asexual Relationship, Asexual Roronoa Zoro, Canon-typical language, Fireworks, Fluff, Loyalty, M/M, Pining, Roronoa Zoro Needs a Hug, Sort of platonic relationship... you'll just have to read it, water fights
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-29
Updated: 2020-07-29
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:08:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,237
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25584919
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theholyjuggernaut/pseuds/theholyjuggernaut
Summary: It’s become a well-known fact that, on occasion, Monkey D. Luffy likes to kiss his swordsman.But it’s not like that.
Relationships: Monkey D. Luffy & Roronoa Zoro, Monkey D. Luffy/Roronoa Zoro
Comments: 7
Kudos: 170





	The Catalyst

Zoro is falling. 

Time lags on the Thousand Sunny; Nami and Robin are chatting quietly on the upper deck, mouths adjourned mid-sentence. Sanji orbits close-by, feet suspended over the stairs, a platter of sparkling drinks elegantly balanced in one hand. Brook leisurely twists a peg on his violin with a skeletal thumb and index finger, out of range from the rest of the guys on the lawn, who are chasing each other with plastic guns in their hands; streams of water spurting through the air like molasses. Franky and Usopp versus Chopper and Luffy–soon to be Franky, Usopp, Chopper, and Luffy versus one provoked Roronoa Zoro. 

Zoro’s initiation into their antics usually involves one or more of his dumbass crewmates doing something mildly irritating in his vicinity. Right now he’s caught in mid-air while dodging a stream of water, which puts him right in the path of his nimrod captain. Luffy’s involvement in the shenanigans aboard the ship is as impending as it is inevitable, being the way that he is. He’s probably the one who suggested a water fight in the first place; hence the wet grass, the lack of friction underfoot, and the swordsman’s imminent descent. Through his solitary right eye, Zoro watches Luffy slowly realize that they’re going to collide in three, two, one. 

A small noise of dread escapes his mouth as Luffy’s forehead slams into his chin. The tyranny of momentum persists; their legs entangle haphazardly, and Zoro’s instincts force his arms out to catch himself, hands taking root in the slippery grass on either side of Luffy’s bare torso. His head already aches from the impact–he’s seen that move during a few of his captain’s battles, now understanding why it’s effective–so there’s no hope of stopping his decline. As if Zoro’s slip of equilibrium wasn’t compromising enough–what with the entire crew outside to bear witness–his brain is very nonchalantly registering the trajectory of his mouth. And Luffy’s mouth. Both which are undoubtedly about to share the same space. 

_I need a drink,_ Zoro laments.

He wonders if his nakama will ever let him live this down as their lips gracelessly crash together. Zoro widens his good eye in stupor, mouth departing as briskly as it landed, and leaps off his captain in one swift movement. He’s breathing heavily, stance withdrawn and flustered, as if the graze of the kiss pulled the air from his lungs. The swordsman surrenders his hands in the air subconsciously, jaw hanging open, and can’t think of a single damn thing to say. Luffy just stares up at him with one of those ambiguous, fly-by-night Luffy expressions, and for once, Zoro doesn’t want to know what the hell is going on in that abstruse mind of his. 

“C–chu . . .” 

Usopp gapes from a distance, hands clapping the sides of his face, water guns forgotten on the lawn. Franky and Chopper do the same, their cheeks tinted pink, and the swordsman almost wouldn’t regret tossing them overboard. Nami snorts from the upper deck, a fist covering her mouth as she holds in her laughter. 

“My, my, Swordsman-san.” Robin giggles before returning her attention to the book in her hand.

Brook raises a bony arm and innocuously asks, “Shall I perform a love ballad?” 

Zoro’s cheeks turn as red as his sash. “Brook! I’ll slice you up!” he hollers. 

Sanji is hysterically bent over the stairs, hugging the railing as he feebly sets down his platter of drinks. “Your face–it’s–it’s so–”

He fiercely unsheathes his katanas. “YOU TOO, DARTBOARD!” 

The cook can only laugh harder, passing the point of coherence. Zoro’s about to go kick his ass, but he can see Luffy rise in his periphery, squinting like he’s trying to decipher a particularly difficult puzzle. A rubbery hand brushes his lips gently, then drops to his side, swinging back and forth. Water or sweat–perhaps a mix of the two–trickles down Zoro’s neck; he turns around, shoulders strung as tight as a bow drill. 

“What?” he yells defensively, his stoic demeanor failing him. All of Zoro’s blood has rushed to his face, numbing his arms and legs like the yarrow’s root in Chopper’s medicine cabinet. He’s desperately trying to rein in his embarrassment, brush it off like it’s nothing. The idea in theory is: If Zoro isn’t visibly bothered by it, everyone else will eventually follow suit; he’ll just have to endure some teasing for a while. 

_It’s Luffy. Who cares if we kissed?_

Although, if he’s being honest with himself, Zoro knows that he’s discomfit; the feeling buried deep beneath the scars on his chest, in his so-called demonic heart, _because_ it’s Luffy. It’s for that reason that Zoro trains every morning, afternoon, and night. He’s never going to let his captain down again. 

Luffy himself doesn’t seem to care much about their situation. He just laughs the way he does whenever he’s amused by some inside joke nobody else is in on. “Nothing! _Shi-shi-shi!_ ” 

Zoro can only stare in disbelief. There’s a tug in his chest, the sort of feeling that only Luffy can incite, and he has an abrupt change of heart. 

_You got me, Captain. What are you thinking?_

* * *

After everyone has dried off, they pile into the kitchen for dinner. Zoro makes a point to sit beside Luffy, as he usually does, as if to challenge anyone who questions his resolve. Just when Zoro thinks the incident has been forgotten, he stares into the bowl Sanji plopped down in front of him. A heart-shaped carrot pops out of the soup’s thick broth. 

_The hell is this, Ero-Cook?_

Zoro flicks a perturbed eye of green over to his captain’s meal–soon to be inhaled–and spots a similar carrot floating on his soup’s surface. He doesn’t want to bring up the afternoon, and the shitty cook definitely knows that, because when Zoro glares at him, Sanji just puckers his lips and winks back. The swordsman sees red, red almost bright enough to match the shade of his ears. 

“Oi, Zoro. Did you eat something spicy?” Luffy asks tactlessly behind a mouthful of meat. 

_Shut up. Shut up. Stop talking, idiot Captain._

He just grunts in affirmation while attempting to not choke on his own spit. 

“Really? The carrots in the soup are quite _sweet_. In more ways than one, you could say,” Sanji grins, his stupid curly eyebrow rising up his forehead. Their captain hasn’t noticed the heart-shaped carrot because it’s undoubtedly been digested already, and he’s probably too oblivious to the swordsman’s embarrassment anyway. Maybe, just maybe, Luffy has already forgotten. 

_Is that a good thing?_

Zoro shuffles down his dinner, rivaling even his captain’s rapid-fire eating pace, and silently excuses himself before everyone else. He wonders if there’s an appropriate response to any of this. As he leaves the kitchen, Usopp whispers in befuddlement, “Is he all right?”

Zoro wishes he knew. 

* * *

“Where are you, Zoro?” a shout reverberates outside. “We’re gonna set off Usopp’s new fireworks! Nami said it’s okay!” 

Sanji and Robin amusedly turn their eyes over to Zoro, who has been fervently evading his captain for the past thirty minutes. He finally decides to suck it up; avoiding Luffy is a lot more exhausting than he anticipated. 

“Really?” Zoro asks doubtfully. He makes sure to level out his voice as he emerges from the kitchen with a bottle of much-needed sake in hand. 

Luffy widens his stance when he spots Zoro from atop the crow’s nest. “Oi, Usopp! You need to put a tracker on Zoro!”

Beside him, the sharpshooter nods gruffly and plops a closed fist in his palm. “Ah, that’s smart.” 

“Hey.” Zoro warns without commitment. 

Luffy stretches down to the lawn, frowning petulantly as he clasps his hands together behind his straw hat. The swordsman’s eye immediately falls upon the curved line of his captain’s lips–now which Zoro can attest to their surprising softness. He chokes down a lump in his throat. 

“Jeez, Zoro, what are you doing? We’ve been calling for so long. I’m disappointed in you!” 

A vein juts out of the swordsman’s forehead. “Whatever. I was busy,” he half-lies, since his definition of busy involves a surplus of booze and napping. 

Usopp shouts across the ship. “You guys, come outside! The mighty Usopp-sama’s show is about to start!” 

As the vibrant fireworks explode overhead–impressive as they may be–Zoro’s focus inevitably settles on his captain’s sharp profile. Luffy may be oblivious to many things, but for his nakama, he reserves parts of himself. There’s not many people who have seen how picturesque the Straw-hat captain is capable of appearing; it’s as if the mirth in his eyes is about to burst forth and spread across the sea like wildfire. Zoro has to fight himself to not turn away when their eyes meet. Luffy’s wide grin mellows, as if the weight of his first mate’s stare softens the edges of his face the longer he looks at him. 

From somewhere far away, Usopp cheers in pride as his last firework erupts. Sanji stands beside him, merrily throwing an arm around the sharpshooter’s shoulders. Chopper sits atop Franky’s wide neck, zealously pointing to the sky. Robin, Nami, and Brook all contentedly watch the show’s finale in their own corners. Nobody else’s attention is focused on the two of them; Zoro wonders if that’s the only reason his gaze is returned. 

Luffy continues to say nothing, the bursting colors above the Sunny illuminating his hazelnut eyes, and Zoro answers with nothing in return. The swordsman knows he could force himself to turn away if needed, but the longer he looks at Luffy, the less he wants to pull back. 

_What is it you’re trying to tell me, Captain?_ Zoro could ask, but doesn’t. 

Luffy would never leave his first mate in the dark if it truly bothered him; he’s just simply the type to not disclose information under the surface unless directly asked or prompted. Furthermore, he’s the captain of their crew, and can’t be forced to do anything. Yet still he would oblige Zoro’s esoteric conscience until no holes in the ship remained, until the slate of confusion was polished clean. Perhaps that is one of the reasons why the famed pirate hunter chose to become a pirate himself. As time passed, his ambition slowly became unanimous with a single dark-haired pirate wearing a timeworn straw hat. 

Zoro watches everyone shuffle to their quarters for the night–sans Luffy who remains atop his perch on Sunny’s head–and wonders if the pounding in his chest is something to be concerned about. He could give Chopper a visit, but truthfully, he knows the cause as well as he knows himself. And there is no cure to what he feels when Luffy looks at him. It’s not something that will ever go away on its own–however strong-minded the swordsman may be–because he is certain to remove the ache is to remove his captain himself. 

As he strolls over to the crow’s nest entrance for the night watch, Luffy suddenly stretches a hand over to poke his cheek. 

“What?” Zoro asks more harshly than he intended, shifting his body to face his captain who somehow silently materialized beside him. Luffy is like a little riddle wrapped up in a mystery. Maybe even more enigmatic than people claim the green-haired swordsman is at times, so it’s no wonder he can be as quiet as he is boisterous. 

“What’s wrong, Zoro,” he says gently–not as a question. It’s more like: _I know something’s wrong, and you’re going to tell me why. Because I’m your captain and you’re my nakama._

Even having picked up the unmistakable translation of Luffy’s words, Zoro has always been stubborn. But there’s also an uncomfortable shard of apprehension caught under his tongue. A slight taste of fear at being discovered. He leans up against the giant wooden beam attached to the crow’s nest and sighs. “Nothing’s wrong. You should go to bed, Captain.” 

_Please just stop asking, Luffy. I can’t give you an answer._

Luffy stares at him, unblinking; another formidable talent of the Straw-hat captain. Zoro feels like a little kid caught doing something he shouldn’t have been doing, because Luffy can always tell when someone is hiding a secret, especially if it’s his own nakama. It’s times like these Zoro wishes Luffy was completely oblivious, instead of exercising his perplexingly observant, intelligent side. 

The waves roll beneath the Thousand Sunny, and as gentle as the movement is, Zoro feels remarkably unsteady on his own feet. When the swordsman thinks Luffy is going to press further, he silently pulls back. The young captain glances up at the sky, inky darkness blanketing overhead. Zoro takes his chance. 

“Go to bed, Luffy,” he tries again. 

Luffy silently acquiesces, squeezing Zoro’s shoulder on his way to the sleeping quarters. The touch lingers deep into the night as Zoro gazes at the Grand Line’s rippling horizon. He searches for anything in the darkness outside, coming up empty handed. Hours and hours pass until the red sun slowly peeks over the edge of the world. The cook wanders across the deck to the kitchens around five, followed by Robin and Usopp a few hours later. Zoro doesn’t move when he’s called down for breakfast, a hand still ghosting over where his and Luffy’s skin met. 

He aches. 

**Author's Note:**

> There's gonna be a second chapter that explains the summary better soon enough! Hope you like it!


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